Improved trace-fastening



TURNER 8n MIX.

Whiffletree.

N 0 35,959. Patented July 22, 1862.

Winesfies: Q fiyeyzfo l I V A 5g/7f/w ///fm N. FEYERS, PHDTQUTHDGRAPHER, WASHINGTON. O.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

L. \V. TURNER'AND H. H. MIX, OF MERIDEN, CONNECTICUT.

IMPROVED TRACE-FASTENING.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 35,959, dated July 22, 1862.

To Cb whom, it may concern: I

Be it known that we, L. WV. TURNER and H. H. MIX, both of Meriden, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and Improved Fastening for,

Securing Traces to \Vhiffletrees; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure l is a side view of our invention. Fig. 2 is an end view of the same; Fig. 3, a longitudinal-section of a portion of the same, taken in the line :0 m, Fig. 2.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

The object of this invention is to obtain a simple, durable, and efficient fastening that may be readily applied to any ordinary whiffietree to keep the traces connected thereto and at the same time admit of the traces being attached to the whiffletree and detached therefrom with the greatest facility.

The invention consists in the employment or use of a small rod or shaft having a pendent lip at its outer end, the rod or shaft being fitted in a box which is secured to the whiffletree, and having a spiral spring connected at one end to the rod or shaft, which spring is inclosed within the box and has its other end attached thereto, so as to keep the lip of the rod or shaft in contact with the face of the draw-iron of the whiffletree, the above parts being used in connection with a stop and thumb piece, all arranged as hereinafter fully shown and described.

To enable those skilled in the art to fully understand and construct my invention, I will proceed to describe it.

A representsa portion of a whiffletree, and B is a draw-iron driven into its outer end and provided with a flattened portion, a, which is not perforated to receive a key or strap, as

is of cylindrical form and has a longitudinal position with the whiffletree.

D is a rod or shaft, the inner part of which is fitted in the box C, and has a spiral spring, 1), upon it, one end of which is attached to D, as shown at c, and the opposite end connected to C, as shown at d in Fig. 3. The outer end of the rod or shaft D is provided with a pendent lip, e, which is directly over the inner part, a, of the draw-iron which adjoins its neckf. This lip is simply a flat plate, and extends down sufficiently far to be nearly or quite in contact with the part a of the drawiron B. (See Figs. 1 and 2.)

The spring I) has a tendency to keep the lip rain the position just described, andthe rod or shaft D is prevented from moving laterally in the box C by means of a collar, 9, which is formed upon it and abuts against the outer end of the box C, and also by a thumb-piece, E, which is attached to the inner end of the rod or shaft and abuts against the inner end of box C. (See Figs. 1 and 3.) The under side of the hub or boss It has a short pendant, 2', attached, and is kept pressed against a stop, j, at the bottom of the box C by the spring I). This pendant and stop prevent the lower edge of the lip e from being forced down tightly upon the part a of the draw-iron. The stopj may be dispensed with and the lip e serve instead of it, but we prefer to use the stop j.

In order to attach the trace to the whiffletree,the thun1b-piece E is pressed back toward the vehicle, and the rod or shaft D thereby turned, and the lip 6 turned forward and up ward, as indicated by the red dotted lines in Fig. 2. The trace is then fitted on the drawiron and the rod or shaft D released, which is then immediately turned back, under the action of the spring I), so that the lip 6 will project down over the part a of the draw-head, and the trace thereby secured on the neck f of the former, as will be fully understood by referring to Fig. 1, in which the position of the trace is shown by red dotted outlines.

The box 0 serves to protect the spring I) from the weather, and also serves as a beau ing for the rod or shaft. There are no parts with the box 0, spiral spring I), and drawliable to get out of repair. The spring b, iron B, with or withoutthe stop j, all arranged which would soon be injured and reuderedinand applied to the whiffletree, substantially efficient i5 exposed to the Weather, is full y pro- I as and for the purpose set forth.

tected an will last indefinitely.

Having thus described our invention, What we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is- Witnesses: I

The rod or shaft D, provided with the pend- THEODORE F. LANE,

ent lip e and thumb-piece E, in combination EBENEZER H. IVES. 

